I’ve always acted against corruption – Edwin Clark

 

Edwin Clark

Ijaw national leader, Chief Edwin Clark, on Friday said he was supporting the anti-corruption fight of President Muhammadu Buhari the same way he supported previous administrations, including that of President Goodluck Jonathan.

This, according to him, is because corruption is the bane of development in the country.

Clark said this in Warri, in reaction to a publication in a national daily on Thursday in which he was criticised for failing to speak against corruption during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

He told journalists that contrary to the claims by the writer of the article, he had always spoken against corruption.

The former federal commissioner for information said those accusing him were unpatriotic and vicious, adding that he was at the forefront of calls for the trial and subsequent imprisonment of former Delta State governor, Chief James Ibori.

He said, “Ordinarily, I shouldn’t have replied, because whoever is the author (of the article) is vicious, wicked and not a patriotic Nigerian. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have written that I never spoke against corruption during the time of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

“I said the author is being vicious because I have been talking about corruption even before the time of Jonathan. In the first place, I talked about corruption during the time of erstwhile President Obasanjo and Yar’Adua.

“I remembered at that time, I was in the forefront of fighting our former governor, Chief James Ibori, leading to him being sentenced in the UK. Every Nigerian is aware of this. I led the crusade against him especially when a judge dropped the charges against him.”

He added that under Jonathan he wrote open letters and held private talks with the former president on corrupt governors in the country, noting that some of their cases were still pending in various courts.

Clark restated his support for Buhari’s anti-corruption war, saying the President was sincere in his desire to tackle it.